Modified Campus Turnaround Plan Houston Independent County-District District Name: 101912 School District Number (CDN): Campus Campus Name Kashmere High School 007 Number: Date of Board 12-Oct-17 (previous) Grades Served: 9th – 12th Approval: 16-Nov-17 (revised) Consecutive School Years Rated Academically IR 8 Unacceptable/Improvement Required: Professionals Responsible for Campus Turnaround Plan Development: Name: Role: Nancy Blackwell Principal Dr. Rhonda Johnson SSO and Campus Level DCSI Judy Koch PSP Natalie Priwer and John Flowers Assistant Principals Ken Williams and Huey German-Wilson Community Members Lynette Durant and Patsy Morehead-Potts Teachers Megan Lyndersay, Megan Titus, Rose Durant Teachers Dr. Grenita Lathan Chief Academic Officer Yolanda Rodriguez Area Superintendent, Superintendent’s Schools Silvia Trinh District DCSI; Academic Support Director Andres Salas Director, Superintendent's Schools Felicia Adams Achieve 180 Program Manager Carla Stevens Assistant Superintendent, Research and Accountability Annie Wolfe Secondary Curriculum Officer Dr. Jocelyn Mouton Assistant Superintendent, Academics Dr. Courtney Busby Interventions Office Director Jeffery McCanna Human Resources Officer George Perez Senior Manager, Budgeting Department Turnaround Plan Attestation Statements By checking the box, we attest assistance was requested from parents and community members in developing the campus turnaround plan, per Texas Education Code (TEC) 39.107(a-2)(2). In addition, the request and input have been recorded and are available upon request. By checking the box, we attest the campus site-based decision-making committee (if applicable), parents, teachers, and community members had an opportunity to review the plan before it was submitted for approval to the board of trustees, per TEC 39.107(b). The comments must be submitted in the ISAM portal. By checking the box, the superintendent and board of trustees attest this plan provides clear focus and urgency to effectively move the turnaround initiative(s) forward. The district confirms its commitment to support the school in the successful implementation of this plan. 1 of 19 Modified Campus Turnaround Plan Houston Independent County-District District Name: 101912 School District Number (CDN): Campus Campus Name Kashmere High School 007 Number: Historical Narrative (Optional Response) Include a historical narrative that succinctly describes the history of the campus that has led to underperformance. Limit the narrative to big picture issues and challenges of the campus. Do not exceed 3000 characters. Kashmere Senior High School is a comprehensive campus which has grown from 493 students in 2015 to 722 students as of September 29, 2017. The current student body is approximately 60% African American and 40% Hispanic with 89.6% being classified as Economically Disadvantaged. Free breakfast, lunch, and dinner is available to all. The current principal has turnaround experience and is strong in effective instructional and curriculum delivery. Upon the principal's arrival at Kashmere HS, it was observed that discipline management was unstructured resulting in students being out of class and in the hallways during instructional time. There were no processes for teachers or students regarding the use of technology, grading procedures, instructional strategies, or authentic professional development. There was a lack of focus on the Professional Learning Community concept. Also lacking were structures for meeting the academic, social, or emotional needs of individual students. Addressing these issues over the past 2 years has resulted in significant growth in Algebra and Social Studies. While Biology decreased slightly on STAAR 2017, the campus still Met Standard in that content area. ELA increased slightly, but continues to be a major focus for improvement for the 2017-2018 school year. Final scores by content are listed: ALGEBRA 1 STAAR BIOLOGY STAAR SOCIAL STUDIES ELA STAAR Performance Performance Performance Performance 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 48% 65% 68% 66% 70% 83% 34% 36% Areas of needed improvement have been addressed under the leadership of the current principal in the following ways: Structures were put in place to address discipline and to reduce tardies. A discipline committee and attendance committee meet weekly. Both the Discipline Committee and Attendance Committee are made up of one parent, a ProUnitas representative, one counselor, an assistant principal and one staff member. Additionally, all teachers have been trained in Conversation, Help, Activity, Movement, Participation, and Success (CHAMPS) to reinforce behavior expectations. Monday Memos reinforcing behavioral expectations are provided to all staff members as well as reiterated during the monthly meetings. Instructional technology has been purchased for all core classrooms and every student. Classroom instruction is addressed through targeted professional development based on best practices and individual teacher needs. Instructional specialists and assistant principals collaborated with teachers to develop their individual teacher development plans, which aligned with Kashmere’s achievement data. Principal monitored attendance of the varied professional development sessions. The District has increased the number of staff positions so that we are better able to meet all student learning needs through effective scheduling, class size, and intervention grouping. Social and emotional student support has been stabilized through non-profit community partner ProUnitas. The partnership is in its 2nd year of full implementation. 2 of 19 Modified Campus Turnaround Plan Houston Independent County-District District Name: 101912 School District Number (CDN): Campus Campus Name Kashmere High School 007 Number: Needs Summary and Turnaround Plan Systematic Root Cause: Describe the systemic root cause that has led to low student performance The systematic root cause leading to past low performance is related directly to the level of instruction being delivered by uncertified teachers. Attracting certified teachers to Kashmere HS has been difficult. However, through the Achieve 180 initiative, we began the 2017-2018 school year fully staffed with certified teachers, with the exception of two who have met the highly qualified criteria, and are pursuing certification through an alternative certification program. While we have partially resolved the certified teacher component of the root cause, the next steps to address the level of instruction are (1) to ensure that all teachers receive ongoing development and support and (2) to develop a system for monitoring the implementation of effective teaching practices during first instruction and during interventions by campus leadership, and that includes district oversight. Additionally, Kashmere HS has not provided sustainable corrective services and monitoring to address the following deficiencies: Literacy gaps in 2/3 of Kashmere HS students; Math gaps in algebraic thinking and reasoning; Lack of social/emotional support for students and families; Low student attendance; Lack of parent empowerment; Lack of systemic plan for student interventions; Lack of systemic plan for student enrichment for advanced learners. Misalignment between teacher appraisal ratings and student performance scores. Although the Houston Independent School District did provide some support to the Turnaround Plan for Kashmere HS during the 2016-2017 school year, the support was not systematic enough to support the continued areas of deficiencies, particularly as it relates to the literacy gap. Turnaround Initiative: Describe your systemic Impacted critical Success Factors approach for turning around the campus. (CSFs): HISD developed the Achieve 180 initiative based on the CSF 1 – Academic Performance ☒ historical challenges faced at Kashmere HS. The 6 Pillars of (Curriculum and Instruction) Achieve 180 are inclusive of persistent deficiencies that characterize many multi-year IR schools, including ☒ CSF 2 - Quality Data to Drive Instruction Kashmere HS [Attachment #1]. Therefore, the Kashmere HS turnaround initiative reflects the Achieve 180 model and ☒ addresses the root cause and persistent deficiencies. Below CSF 3 – Leadership Effectiveness is a description of each pillar and how each pillar addresses specific Kashmere HS needs. Specific action items under ☒ CSF 4 – Increased Learning Time each pillar are delineated under the Processes and Procedures section of the Turnaround Plan. ☒ CSF 5 – Family/Community Engagement PILLAR I – Leadership Excellence: This pillar addresses leadership development by creating systems for monitoring ☒ CSF 6 – School Climate 3 of 19 Modified Campus Turnaround Plan Houston Independent County-District District Name: 101912 School District Number (CDN): Campus Campus Name Kashmere High School 007 Number: Turnaround Initiative: Describe your systemic Impacted critical Success Factors approach for turning around the campus. (CSFs): implementation of professional development, PLC planning, data collection, tracking and analysis, teacher coaching, and district level leadership training. PILLAR II – Teacher Excellence: Pillar II provides district support in recruiting and hiring of certified teachers in core content courses, retention incentives for teachers and leaders, and the hiring of essential personnel (nurse, librarian and counselor). It also provides coaching and support from administrators, Teacher Development Specialists, and a New